November 26, 2017

Garry Cooper

"What Does a Scientist Look Like?!: Diversity in Science"

Dr. Cooper will tell us about his company, Rheaply, his personal experiences as a scientist, and the importance of well-funded, well-managed science in Chicago. As an African American who is also a neuroscientist and entrepreneur, Cooper is familiar with the challenges and discomfort of being one of the few, or only, blacks in science. Now, he considers it a passion of his to make himself visible and available to other aspiring scientists of color.

About Garry Cooper:

Dr. Garry Cooper is the CEO/Co-founder of Rheaply, Inc. a Chicago-based tech startup with a simple mission: make research better, make the world better. Rheaply has developed and launched a novel marketplace for research scientists to buy/sell, trade, donate, share pricy scientific resources as well as more easily collaborate with their colleagues. Dr. Cooper is also a visiting scholar at Northwestern University Department of Physiology. Before Rheaply, Garry was a Senior Consultant at Ernst & Young, LLP in the Life Science Advisory practice where he works in performance improvement for biopharmaceutical clients, and. Before joining Ernst & Young, Dr. Cooper was a post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University in the department of physiology at Feinberg School of Medicine, where he worked with Profs. Richard Silverman (inventor of Lyrica®), Eric Weiss, and D. James Surmeier in furthering efforts to develop and identify a therapeutic measure to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Before his post-doctoral training, Dr. Cooper was a consultant at Promidian Consulting, a NY-based pharmaceutical consulting firm. In Promidian’s Chicago office, Dr. Cooper worked on projects concerning late-stage clinical trial/pre-market launch strategy. Before joining Promidian, Dr. Cooper worked on drug development for Parkinson’s disease at Northwestern University. The majority of this work was done while completing his PhD in neuroscience at Northwestern University under the supervision of Richard B. Silverman and D. James Surmeier. While at Northwestern University, Dr. Cooper received several awards for scientific merit and presentation, published in high-impacting peer-reviewed international journals (i.e.,Nature Communication), and participated in a drug development effort that led to a US patent. Before coming to Northwestern, Dr. Cooper worked in the department of chemistry at Indiana University. While there, he led a team of several undergraduate students in managing the organic chemistry teaching laboratories and outreach efforts to middle/high school students aiming to deepen their passion for science. Prior to joining the chemistry department, Dr. Cooper was a student at Indiana University completing a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelors of Arts in Chemistry.

Dr. Cooper is a member of Sigma Xi, The Honor Society for Research, AAAS, SFN as well as a former board member of the Midwest Chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association.

Our Adult Programs:

A typical Sunday meeting begins at 10:30, ends at noon and consists of a speaker or presentation focusing on current issues, ethical philosophy, lifespan education, or the arts. Platforms are open to the public and admission is free, although we request a donation of $5.

Our Program for Children:

The Golden Rule Sunday School, for children from birth through 8th grade, also meets every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to noon, September through May. For more info, contact the Sunday School director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.